Workplace health and wellness in recent years seems to be a major area of focus within many health and safety teams. In some ways, this looks like a lengthy and impossible journey with many leaders often questioning how effective these efforts can be in the long run and its benefits when it comes to overall productivity and an eventual return on investment.
It is no secret that people are happier and more productive if they feel healthy and safe at work, employers are in a unique position to be a good influence on health and welfare. In reality, however, many workplace health and well-being programs being introduced today are not necessarily that effective.
Many leaders, rightfully realise that it takes a lot of work to develop a healthy lifestyle and such efforts cannot stop once an organization reaches a certain target when it comes to its employee wellness efforts. What adds to the situations is that there is not enough data or strong science to support the notion that investing in fitness, diets, health awareness and mindfulness campaigns produces more productive employees that can significantly increase the businesses bottom line.
On the other hand, what some of those leadership teams fail to realise is that there are some healthy behaviors that can show results sooner than others and provide that "instant gratification" that satisfies their initial decision to approve such programs being implemented. When it comes to a workplace wellness program, those changes can be the best ones to make because leadership teams need to see results. They want some hint that their effort and investments are paying off even if they recognize the bigger pay-offs may take some time.
In my experience working with various establishments that had introduced such programs, potential success stemmed from how effectively the campaigns had been planned and what the intended long-term results were. If you know a general timeline of what changes to expect, what behaviors to focus on and the metrics that would allow you to measure success, you will be able to determine whether or not you're on the right track with your wellness program.
I will below share a number of areas that require clear focus and pre-planning from team leaders to ensure wellness programs can be successful:
1. Ensure you have the data to back your program up!
Programs that are mainly activity based can sometimes lack the data that would justify the initial investment and could affect the consistency of applying the program. From my experience, such programs are well and fun when the business is doing well. The second you have an economic downturn, they would be the first to go as the data is not there to back it up.
Health campaigns that are result driven where tangible data can be obtained such as reductions in the number of absenteeism, better biometric results, better employee retention, drops in cholesterol levels or a reduction in overall health care costs, have a better chance of being more seriously looked at by leaders within organizations.
To ensure success, a well-organized effort where goals are set, data is gathered and monitored by a set committee who periodically evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program may be required.
2. Incentives could be key!
Where health campaigns are present, a change of behavior is normally required by company employees. This, of course, requires a certain level of motivation for any potential program that is to be developed. Any incentive plan should initially be simple to understand and follow by company employees.
Having the right motivation ensures employees are given that initial push needed to begin and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The incentives should always act as a positive reinforcement, where a good behavior or obtaining good health results are rewarded.
Selecting the correct behavior to incentivise is also a key consideration. Don't provide incentives for participation alone, incentives should be provided for the employees who have completed their 10,000 steps per day for the last month, completely stopped smoking, have achieved their perfect BMI score, achieved their targeted weight loss or have completed a five-kilometer run within a given time frame.
There are various models of wellness incentive programs that can be used and it is always recommended that any incentives used as part of a health campaign be adequately planned and assessed prior to rolling out the program.
3. Involve employees in choosing and designing the programs
Use health and safety committees to come up with ideas for your next health campaign, send out an employee survey with the different options to get a general consensus or take suggestions and ask for volunteers at the end of monthly health and safety meetings.
Many companies make the mistake of leaving HSE or HR departments to choose what programs are best for the company without consulting members of staff first. This can generally result in lower participation by employees as they may not be able to relate to the programs that have been selected for them.
When employees are involved in the design and selection of wellness programs, participation rates are higher, engagement is stronger, and the programs are more likely to deliver the results that leadership teams are looking for.
There is a business case for workplace wellness programs, but only when they are planned, data-driven, and designed with the involvement of the employees they are meant to serve.